Donald Trump has finally signed off Sir Keir Starmer's plan to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius, No10 has confirmed.
The UK will now ramp up its negotiations with Mauritius ahead of eventually transferring sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: “I think the finalisation of the deal is ongoing, but we’ll obviously provide an update as and when we’ve got one.”
The spokesman added: “I mean, you will have seen from the President that he recognised the strength of the deal.
“I think we are now working with the Mauritian Government to finalise the deal and sign the treaty.
Trump 'recognised the strength of the deal', the Prime Minister's spokesman said
GETTY"My understanding is it’s now between us and the Mauritian Government to finalise the deal following the discussions with the US.”
The spokesman made the comments as MPs tore into one another about how the UK will cover the costs of the estimated £9billion deal.
In a fiery exchange in the Commons, Tory MP Joe Robertson asked: “The Government is planning to give away sovereign British territory along with billions of pounds to Mauritius.
"The money hasn’t been referred to in the spring statement or the budget, where is it coming from?”
Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty replied by claiming the details would be provided in "due course".
LATEST ON LABOUR'S CHAGOS GIVEAWAY:
Stephen Doughty replied by claiming the details would be provided in 'due course'
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Shadow Foreign Minister Andrew Rosindell also pushed the Foreign Minister on the details.
He said: “When will this horrific deal finally come to Parliament and what time will we have to debate it? Or better still, why doesn’t the minister dump the deal completely and keep Chagos British?”
Doughty replied: “A financial element was crucial to protect the operation of that crucial base. Once the treaty is signed and put before both houses for scrutiny, for application in the usual way, this will, of course, include costs.
"The Government will not scrimp on our security, protecting the British people is our number one priority.”
Priti Patel told Labour to 'come to the House of Commons and face scrutiny' over their 'surrender' plans
PALater, Priti Patel told Labour to "come to the House of Commons and face scrutiny" over their "surrender" plans.
Writing on social media after the fiery parliamentary exchanges, Patel blasted: "Labour should have the courage to come to the House of Commons and face scrutiny over their deal to surrender the Chagos islands and pay for the privilege.
"This remains a very bad deal for British taxpayers - and we now know money is going to be frontloaded to Mauritius, at a time when Labour is stripping vulnerable pensioners of their winter fuel payments and whacking family farms and businesses with punishing taxes."
